Vampire Setinel - Let Them Eat Cake Part 8

Chapter Nine.

"NeeKata will live," Dr. Morgan said with a sigh. "He's lost a great deal of blood, has some severely torn muscle and tissue that will need to regenerate, and he will need an elfin healer to a.s.sist him with the energy draw...I can't help him replace what he's lost. But his injuries will heal. You got to him in time, Maria."

Maria nodded and thanked Morgan. He never seemed to be baffled by the strange cases she brought him-he just worked on patching them all up. He was quiet, una.s.suming and brilliant, his hidden clinic well-funded and top of the line due to the money that paranormals "gifted" him with after treatment. She watched the tall, dark-haired doctor as he went back to taking care of Nee and allowed her shoulders to relax a little as she glanced around the room.

Brian and Matt stood to one side, huddled together for support. Justin leaned against the stark white wall...glaring at her. And Luke sat sprawled on the small waiting room couch. They were in the private clinic Dr. Morgan kept in his home for the Council's use. They all looked relieved at his p.r.o.nouncement.

"So. What did you think of Mormo, Maria?" Luke drawled.

Maria watched Justin from the corner of her eye. His body stiffened when Luke spoke. Justin hadn't spoken to her in anything but one-word sentences since he'd charged into the glade. His anger appeared to expand with each second instead of dissipate. She could feel his psychic turmoil, his need to get her alone. With a mental sigh, she turned to answer Luke's question. "Lovely creature. I think we learned a few things about her we can use, though."

"Like what?" Luke asked.

"Like the fact that when I hit her with my boots to knock her away from Nee, her freezing ability didn't have an affect on me. Mormo didn't paralyze me or cause any harm. And she seriously hates having her feet injured. She went postal when I managed to lodge one of my shurikens in her ankle."

"Hey," Brian interjected. "What if she's like a reverse vampire. You know...'cut off her feet and she bleeds to death' kind of thing. In a way, it would be a weird explanation of why she's so sensitive about her feet. All the Web references on the Emp mention how she reacts very strongly to any mention of her hooves. Doesn't like any attention paid to them. Stranger things have happened. After all, there was that old Greek G.o.d whose heels were his weak point."

Maria frowned. When she looked around the room, she could see the others seemed to have similar blank looks on their faces. What if... Nah, that was crazy.

As if he were still trying to reason out things in his mind, Luke answered in a slow drawl, "So. We what? Try and cut off her feet? One is made of some metallic-looking substance, but Maria said it bled when the star was embedded in her foot."

"Not just bled. That sounds like the wound dripped a little. We are talking gus.h.i.+ng blood-like a major artery was cut. And my stars are made of a special metal with embedded cutting diamonds in the blades," Maria corrected. She couldn't concentrate on the conversation. Justin's anger seemed to pulse over her in waves.

She felt pulled toward him, the impulse to soothe and comfort overwhelming her. She didn't get it. She tried to block his emotional projection and failed, which confused her even more.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Makes it seem like a good idea. She has never cared about any wounds she'd received before."

"Trust me. She didn't like this one. She forgot all about me and started dancing around and shrieking loud enough to wake the dead. d.a.m.n b.i.t.c.h was hysterical." Maria managed to pull her thoughts away from Justin's seething emotions and back to the discussion.

"Maria is right, she didn't even notice me. I think the flamethrower just added to her misery, it wasn't what made her leave. It worries me though, Luke. You said when she gets hurt or injured she'd feed more often, which means she'll be on the hunt soon," Justin put in. The words ringing with suppressed emotion.

"Yeah, soon. I can tell you the vampire, Michael, was another of her victims. So we know she's killed at least twice in this area," Luke said. He turned to look at Maria, a scowl on his face. "Remember, don't go out alone-"

Maria didn't have a chance to hear the rest of his warning as Justin grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. "We're taking the Hummer back to the penthouse. Luke can give Brian and Matt a ride." He didn't wait for comment, just herded her in the direction of the car, irritation and anger radiating from him with every step.

Justin felt his anger boil and surge once Maria was in the pa.s.senger seat. He was out of control and he knew it, but didn't seem to be able to raise the mental energy to care. He was furious with Maria for going after the creature on her own, and this overwhelming sentiment seemed to have a life of its own.

He wanted to throw her down and show her who was boss in the most elemental way he knew how. f.u.c.k her and make her scream his name in submission, force her to bow to his demands.

He didn't take her back to her apartment. No. He wanted her on his own turf, at his mercy. Each time she started to say something, he held up his hand. "Don't!" he bit out, using everything he had to get them home. His home. Instead of pulling into a dark alley somewhere so he could relieve this driving need to possess her.

He pulled in front of his house, a small Victorian he planned on renovating when he had the time, and plucked her from the car. Not allowing her feet to touch the ground, he carried her to the front door, barking out the command, "Open the door."

He felt Maria's gaze, felt her body s.h.i.+ft in his arms as she waved one hand at the small structure, and the door slid open. The quick compliance to his demand did little to satisfy his need to force her acquiescence.

He didn't stop in the hallway except to use his foot to slam the door closed behind them. "Lock it," he growled. Again he felt her move in his arms to motion at the door behind them. He flew up the stairs and strode, impatient and driven, to the room at the end of the hall.

He dumped her in the middle of his bed and snapped out another command, "Don't move one inch or say one word." He reached to pull his s.h.i.+rt over his head.

Maria raised her eyebrows at him for a second, then she visibly relaxed and laid back on his bed. He watched to make sure she didn't miss the size of his erection as he stripped off his jeans and boots. He wanted to be sure she knew his body strained to claim her.

"d.a.m.n you, Maria. You could have been killed, eaten alive like the rest of her victims." As he railed at her, he moved to use the s.h.i.+rt he'd taken off to tie her hands and loop them over the raised center of the headboard. He never questioned her silent acceptance of this. Or hesitated over his growing need to have her helpless beneath him. His actions were fueled by something deep within.

It was right. She was his to command. The sentiments reverberated thought his soul.

Once her hands were bound and he settled a few pillows behind her upper back, he straddled her waist and brought his hands up to the flimsy fabric at the neck of her sweats.h.i.+rt. With one pull he tore the s.h.i.+rt in half, dragging it away from her to bare her naked b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She'd not bothered to put on a bra before going to the fairy's rescue. The sight reminded him of the terror he experienced.

He reached out with both hands to pull at her nipples. He pinched her, pulling on them as he stared into her gray-blue eyes, at the shocked heat that blossomed in their depths.

"You put yourself at risk. Left me behind to worry and see your body in my mind...tortured and b.l.o.o.d.y." He squeezed his fingers tighter, felt her stomach muscles clench tight beneath him, the quivering flesh teasing his a.s.s. He moved forward, positioning his c.o.c.k between the soft mounds and using his hands to press her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against his shaft. He flexed his hips, drawing forward and back...plunging into the cradle he'd made of her plump t.i.ts. He groaned as, with the next upward thrust, Maria bent her head down and stuck out her tongue to lap across the slit in the crown.

He surged up, his hands going to the sides of her head, and he guided her mouth to his groin. "Suck me!" he demanded in a husky growl. "Use your teeth, make me bleed and suck me some more."

He lost it. Lost the care and sensitivity he'd always used when he loved her. He knew he pulled her hair, knew his hands were rough against her head as he forced her to pleasure him. He set the pace, not allowing her to withdraw or turn her head to the side. He rode her mouth, his c.o.c.k swollen and ready to burst, the pull of wet heat wrapped around him making his skin crawl with the erotic demand for more.

He felt the sc.r.a.pe and sting as her teeth cut into him. Cried out as the heated suction of her mouth drew more pleasure, more pain from him, and his c.o.c.k expanded further. Not enough.

"d.a.m.nyoud.a.m.nyoud.a.m.nyou," he cried, as he moved off her, fumbling with the b.u.t.ton and zipper at her waist and pulling her pants and shoes off in one rough move. He fell on her, using his aggression to push her thighs apart with his knees, to let his turgid c.o.c.k root in the damp heat between her legs. He couldn't help himself, couldn't help cursing her carelessness, her disregard for her own safety. The tape in his mind rolled the images of what could have been in a relentless loop. He was losing his sanity.

"Mine!" he screamed out, as he surged into the tight channel of her c.u.n.t. "Mine!" he growled against her skin, taking one nipple into his mouth and biting in restrained need. Lapping the small amount of blood from the little wound, he drew back...the taste...the punch of added sensual heat he gained from her blood blazed through him...going straight to his c.o.c.k.

"Mineminemineminemine," he shouted over and over as he pounded into her. And he kept pounding through her first o.r.g.a.s.m, through the mewled cries as she begged him to stop and then begged him for more as she peaked again. His body was driven with the mindless need to brand her, his psyche locked on the notion that she was his, his to pleasure, his to possess...body and soul.

With one final shout, he erupted within her, the o.r.g.a.s.m raking him from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. He collapsed on top of her. His mind and body now able to rest.

Maria couldn't believe it. He'd tied her up, made her body contort and shriek with pleasure and then pa.s.sed out on top of her. With her hands still tied to the d.a.m.n bed.

She expected a verbal las.h.i.+ng when he'd forced her into the car and driven her to his home. Not this primeval caveman routine, dragging his woman by the hair and tying her to the bed. She winced. Her hair hurt. Her arms hurt. The part of her body still joined to his hurt. But she'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit she'd enjoyed every minute of it.

Prehistoric macho bulls.h.i.+t evidently turned her on. She shrugged and winced again. Once and a while, anyway. Now what? Did she use her psychic powers to untie the s.h.i.+rt holding her to the bed and move him off her? Or would that set him off again? She sighed. There was no way she was going to stay in this position one second longer.

With a thought she released her hands and rolled Justin to the side. She crawled off the bed, her knees buckling under her weight as she struggled toward what she prayed was the master bathroom. Jeez. The man had incredible stamina and power for a human. One of these days she'd make sure to pay him back. She grinned wickedly as she turned on the lights, her l.u.s.t-filled thoughts completely wiped from her mind as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Holy s.h.i.+t! Her hair looked like a rat moved in and set up housekeeping. Scratch that...an entire family of rats. Her makeup was smeared and she had red, swollen patches of skin across her chest that had to be whisker burn-and a bruised, open cut with little flecks of dried blood where Justin bit her nipple.

She groaned, for a moment caught up in the reality of exchanging blood with her all-too-human lover. But he couldn't have ingested more than a small mouthful. Hopefully. She did not need or want a blood zombie. She would never do that to Justin.

The gasping sound behind her the only warning she was no longer alone, she ducked her head and tried to cover her body with her hands. She did not want him seeing her looking like the hag of death.

"Maria, oh, G.o.d. Baby, I'm so sorry," Justin cried out in obvious pain. "I hurt you."

Maria straightened and with a quick flourish of her hand she settled her hair into smooth, tangle-free strands and cleared her face of makeup. It would take a day's sleep to repair the small cut at her breast, so she added a light robe before she turned to him. "You did not hurt me," she said with indignant reproach.

"But I-"

"Stop it, Justin. Look at me. You did not hurt me," she repeated. "You f.u.c.ked me well and hard, and if you think about it, you'll remember the sounds I made were not ones of pain but of pleasure. I am certain you will also remember that if I wanted you off me, if I wanted out of here...you couldn't have held me." She pushed him to the side-thoughts of soaking in a hot bath taking a back seat to dealing with his perceived ill treatment of her-stomped back into the bedroom and turned to glare at him. How dare he think so little of her powers?

Justin shook his head in denial. "No, Maria. You can't hide this from me. I heard your moans and saw the marks on your body. I lost control, lost my mind and you suffered for it. I don't know what came over me. I was angry...upset with you. I felt the overpowering need to dominate and force you into submission. The result is inexcusable. I should never have touched you in anger."

Maria laughed and tried to prod Justin out of his self-flagellation. "Give me a break here, Justin. I'm a vampire. I can jump or leap or whatever over tall buildings in a single bound, run faster than a speeding bullet...and I can never remember what I'm supposed to do with the locomotive." She waited for his response.

"That's Superman, not a d.a.m.n vampire, and you don't do anything with the locomotive. You're missing the point, Maria," he retorted. She could hear the exasperation in his tone.

"No, Justin. The point is you can't hurt me. Well...unless you lop my head off. Again." She shrugged. "And bury it in a separate box from my body. Or you could use a flamethrower...that would hurt. Or a stake to the heart, the old wives' tales are correct on that point too. A stake would kill me, but really-"

"Maria!" This time Justin shouted her name.

She threw her hands up. "Okay! I'll stop. But only if you admit you didn't hurt me." She knew her voice sounded petulant and yet she didn't care.

He was being ridiculous.

"Fine. You're super vamp and I'm a mere mortal with a control problem. I'll stop if you'll agree that you won't go after this creature alone. I can't follow you over the side of a building, can't find you unless Matt or Brian are with me. We don't know all the abilities of the creature we're hunting and I obviously can't handle your being in danger," he demanded.

Maria sighed. So it had come down to this. Fine. She couldn't promise him. NeeKata would have died if she hadn't gotten to him as fast as she did. And Justin was mortal. She couldn't fly through the air with him in her arms.

Well...she could, but she wouldn't move as fast, nor would she be able to protect them if she needed to.

Reluctantly, she shook her head. "I can't promise you that, Justin. You know I can't. Nee would have died this time. Next time might mean someone else's life, and I won't take the risk when minutes...h.e.l.l, seconds could make the difference between them living or dying. I move faster on my own."

Justin dropped his head. She could tell he agreed with her words. Didn't like them, but agreed.

After a few minutes he raised his eyes to hers. The pain and despair in their depths shot to her soul. She cried out when he stated flatly, "I know. But I can't risk hurting you, Maria. Next time the consuming rage I feel when you place yourself in danger might cause me to really damage you."

She started to deny his ability to harm her when he stopped her with a raised hand and a shake of his head.

"Don't. Don't mitigate the damage I did tonight. I know you're only trying to make me feel better. I can't take the chance, Maria. I'll take you home. And then I think I should stay away from you for a while. I don't understand where this dark need to dominate is coming from. But until I do, you'll be safer without me."

Chapter Ten.

Maria was in a blind rage by the time she got back to her penthouse. She slammed the door behind her, not hearing the frame crack as she stamped toward her room. She ignored the stunned looks from Matt and Brian.

"d.a.m.n stupid man!" she shrieked, as she stormed into her room and threw her backpack against the wall, smiling in evil delight when it embedded itself in the plaster. "Hah! Weak. Fragile. Woman. My. a.s.s." She punctuated each word by throwing something else, something big and heavy or something that would make a satisfying crash when it hit.

When throwing things lost its appeal, she threw herself down on the bed and sobbed. Knowing she acted out of character didn't help. Her heart ached and she hurt. Not from anything Justin had done to her, but from his absence. She despaired of ever feeling whole again, and sighed in relief as the sun crept over the horizon, bringing with it the oblivion of day sleep.

She never saw her two men creep into the room to cover her with a blanket and straighten up the mess she'd made with her tantrum. Nor did she hear their whispered concern.

Two days later she was still hurting. And sick. She'd struggled through the nights trying to protect her city and had finally given up. She'd be Emp bait if she ran into the creature in this state.

The day sleep no longer brought her respite from the torment. The endless suffering seemed to take control of her body. She moaned in agony as another wave of pain caused her stomach muscles to clench and her head to throb. She felt every beat of her heart, every molecule of her skin ache, as it seemed to languish for Justin. "Languish is such a stupid word," she muttered.

"Maria."

What seemed to be hours of torture later she heard Brian call to her, but couldn't force her eyelids to open. She gasped as another jolt of agony tore through her body.

"Maria, that's it. Something is definitely wrong with you. It's the middle of the day, and while we've been worried about the Queen b.i.t.c.h routine you've treated us to the last couple nights, this is worse. I'm calling Dr. Morgan."

She grunted. Not knowing or caring if Brian took the sound to be acquiescence or negation of his statement. She just wanted to die. Oh, wait. She was already dead. d.a.m.n it, it wasn't supposed to hurt like this when you were already dead.

"Keep an eye on her, Matt," Brian said, as he started for the phone in the kitchen. "She's already thrown up once and we don't want her suffocating in her own puke." He detoured to the front door as the bell rang. Security hadn't called anyone up, so it must be another paranormal. He looked through the peephole to see Luke standing outside the door.

Throwing the door open, he surprised the man by flinging his arms around him and hugging. Hard. "d.a.m.n, am I glad to see you," he practically broke down in sobs of his own. He hoped Luke would be able to help them. Surely the older vamp would have some idea of what was wrong with Maria.

"What's going on?" Luke questioned as he pulled back from Brian's embrace.

Managing a weak smile, Brian told him about living with Maria the last few days. He explained the raging tantrums and the snide b.i.t.c.hiness when she was awake. How she refused to feed, or drink anything...the painful sickness she dealt with now.

"I don't understand." Brian knew he whined the words but he was so tired and worried he didn't care. "She never treats us like this, throwing things and screaming in anger. And I didn't think vampires were supposed to get sick. She acts like she's got a virulent case of the flu. You can't get the flu, can you?"

Luke looked at him in shock. Oh, this can't be good, Brian thought.

"She's sick?" Luke questioned him.

"Puking her guts up, running a fever, screaming in agony-sick," he affirmed. "This is the second day-hey! It's daytime. What the h.e.l.l are you doing here during the day?"

Luke rolled his eyes at him. "Not that it matters right now, but I'm old enough that the sun doesn't bother me anymore. Give Maria a few more decades and she'll be the same. She won't have to sleep during the day, and eventually she'll be able to spend a little time in the sun. Over the centuries, she'll work up to having enough resistance she could sunbathe in the nude if she wants."

"Eww, ick! Not something to look forward to," Brian groused. "And she'll want to, I just know it. How old are you anyway?"

"Older than dirt," Luke replied sarcastically. "Now, where is Maria?"

Obviously sharing time was over.

"This way. You are not going to believe this," Brian mumbled, as he led the other man down the hall to Maria's bedroom. He nodded at Matt when he let Luke into the room, letting him know it would be okay. Help had arrived.